The present invention relates to a testing apparatus and method for detecting damage to the casting belts on a continuous casting mold or caster where these belts form corotating mold walls.
Continuous casting molds or casters with co-rotating mold walls, comprised, in particular, of a pair of oppositely disposed endless casting belts and a pair of oppositely disposed laterally following endless lateral dam blocks, are used to attain high casting rates (in the order of magnitude of 10 m/minute) in the casting of lead, zinc, copper and steel.
The so-called twin belt continuous casting molds or casters are equipped at their top and at their bottom with a casting belt made of carbon steel and having a thickness of about 1 mm. Since the thin casting belts are subject to considerable thermal and mechanical stresses, which may lead to crack formation in particular, they are exchanged normally after about 24 to 32 hours of operation in spite of the relatively low operating temperatures encountered when casting lead, zinc and copper. This exchange is done merely as a precautionary measure because the precise moment when the belts become useless has so far not been determinable. Moreover, when casting metals, it is desirable to detect damage to the casting belts early, particularly because the danger of an explosion when the metal melt impinges on the cooling water provided in the region of the continuous casting mold and its consequences also exists for the devices surrounding the mold.